


Flesh and Spirit

by sp00kworm



Category: Ghost (Sweden Band), Ghost (Swedish Band), Ghost B.C., Ghost BC
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Demon AU, Demon! Papa Nil, Demons, Feels, Gen, Ghouls are not human, Gore, Mild Gore, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 13:57:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14717370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sp00kworm/pseuds/sp00kworm
Summary: Cowbell is a young Ghoul trying to earn his place in the Clergy, but when he gets an afternoon off he wants nothing more than for his caretaker, Papa Emeritus Nihil to take him out to visit the local town.





	Flesh and Spirit

Young Ghouls were raised on meats. The demonic creatures matured slowly and so spent a lot of their childhood eating animals rather than hunting for themselves. Animals were also a safer option due to the lowered risk of transmission of diseases, especially in animals raised for slaughter. Kit Ghouls were especially susceptible to blood diseases from humans and infections in the flesh could often cause many days of stomach pain. Papa Nil quickly caught on to the feeding cycles of Ghouls. Meat was required but the spirit of the flesh that inhabited the tissue was a far more nutritious food source for the small lesser demons. The speed required to get the meat to the baby ghouls with the spirit still intact was a difficult procedure, and Nihil often ended up having to take the Ghoul’s to slaughter houses or bring animals to the chapel for the Ghoul’s to be satisfied. Only when Ghouls started to come of age could they start to consume human flesh safely. 

Cowbell was young in Ghoul terms. Being seventy years old, he was still just a teenager in the eyes of the members of his own species, and to everyone he appeared much like a teenager. He was gangly and long in all the wrong places, like a human, with horns that had only just began to curl. The leathery tail with a fluffy end was too long for him and he often tripped over the thing when trying to go up any stairs. The young Ghoul reached for his ringing alarm with a scowl and clicked the back of the old clock to stop the centre ringer smacking against the bells. Opening one black eye he groaned at the sun which was barely peaking over the horizon. Duties were calling and the Ghoul managed to crawl out of bed and wash his face before lazily pulling on his trousers and robe. The robe was long like a monk’s, black and made from coarse fabric with a large hood that shadowed Cowbell’s face as he pulled it up and set it over his hair and short horns. The Ghoul looked at the time again before brushing his sharp set of teeth and leaving to join the other members of the Clergy on their morning activities.

Breakfast and mass passed uneventfully, and Cowbell sat with the other young Ghoul’s at the table. He and Earth snickered and joked to one another over their small plates of food, playfully butting each other with stubby horns in pretend fighting. When the two began to hiss at one another they felt the powerful gaze of the large and intimidating Air Ghoul. His eyes flashed white as he looked at the two mischievous Ghouls. Earth quickly stopped and looked at the elder Ghoul in wonder before flushing under the scorn and returning to quickly chewing pieces of meat. Cowbell eyed the powerful elder Ghoul with black eyes and received a scoff. Most Ghoul’s could not fathom while Cowbell as a powerless member of their species was permitted to remain in the Earth realm. The Air Ghoul was a stickler for respect and was set to be part of the Clergy’s latest project for winning over the masses. Earth seemed to have an unearthly amount of respect for the Ghoul though, so Cowbell kept quiet and ate his breakfast quietly, not wanting to evoke the wrath of the other older demons around them. 

Cowbell returned to his room after his music lessons with the rest of the young Ghouls. He had hoped to be able to use the drums, but Earth, as always, had beat him to them. Cowbell had made do with working on his vocals and timings with the vocalist. He had the afternoon free to do as he pleased. Earth had gone to the woods to draw which meant that Cowbell was alone in the chapel full of busy people. The Ghoul hummed as he reached his room and glanced out of the window at the great buildings of the nearby town. His eyes widened as he saw the spire of a great church glisten in the centre of the town and the Ghoul smiled pulling his hood back up over his head, sprinting down the hall towards the exclusive on-suite rooms of the chapel. 

Papa Emeritus Nihil’s room was the largest in the chapel with an elaborate sweeping design, stained glass and large open pool bathing area in the next room. Cowbell slid between a pair of Sisters of Sin that were walking away from the chambers of the leader of the church. They had baskets of washing clutched close and talked in rapid earth tongues. One of them caught the Ghoul’s arm as he slid between them and questioned him with a scowl. Cowbell stuttered over his words as he tried to tell them his purpose.   
“I am, uh, I wish to see the Grand Papa…and…uh.” The words came out in clumsy English and the Sister’s looked at his shadowed face with little smiles. They knew that Cowbell was often running around the high class chambers and let him go with a gentle pat on the head between his horns. Cowbell, still embarrassed by his terrible attempt at English, rushed to Nihil’s door and knocked three times before slipping inside.

The Grand Papa looked up from his paper as the Ghoul slipped inside, his lanky form squeezing through the small gap in the door before clawed fingers latched the door closed.   
“Cowbell, my child, what are you doing here at this time?” The demon addressed him in the dark language and Cowbell was glad he wasn’t going to have to practice his earthly languages again.  
“I came to ask you something, Papa.” Cowbell turned around, his long robe tangling his tail between his legs as he walked over to the small breakfast table the leader was sat at. Papa Nihil placed his coffee down on his little saucer and folded his paper with grace before pushing his glasses up and looking at the Ghoul with haunting mismatched eyes, one white and one dark brown.  
“What do you want to ask, Cowbell?” Papa Nil gave him a smile and patted his lap. Cowbell rolled his eyes and sat across the table from him.  
“Papa, do you think you could take me to see the Church? The one in the town across from us. I’ve never been anywhere but here, and it looks so nice from here. The top glitters!” The Ghoul pulled his hood down, his black eyes wide with wonder as he put his hands together in front of him, prepared to beg Nihil.

Nihil looked at the hopeful Ghoul and hummed, thinking, as he sipped his coffee. Taking a demonic creature outside of the safety of the Chapel could pose serious repercussions for both him and the Clergy. Cowbell’s black eyes were wet with tears as he feared Papa Nihil refusing him, and the demon smiled with sharp teeth, “Of course we can go see the Church. Go and grab a camera, we shall go right away!” Cowbell’s eyes widened before he was up and sprinting to his own room to grab his camera and films. He shoved them in a little leather satchel along with a couple of things such as gloves and a magnifying glass. As fast as his clumsy legs could carry him, he ran towards the doors of the chapel. Papa Nihil was stood with his driver in a fine cut suit. Cowbell grinned as he stopped next to Nil and held up his camera with a sharp toothed smile. The driver was already making his way to the flashy car and Nil smiled at the Ghoul before opening the door for them both.

The drive to the town was relatively short and Cowbell spent most of the drive peering through the one-way tinted windows at the scenery. As they drew closer to the town the greenery slowly bled away to grey concrete and signs with delicately pruned flower beds and fruit trees. Cowbell’s mouth opened as he looked up at some of the tall office buildings and Nihil chuckled from the seat next to him, fishing around in his pocket for his sunglasses to hide the mismatched eyes he had, his teeth he could disguise with his powers, but never his eyes. The Ghoul next to him began to jitter in his seat as the car rolled to a stop. Nil leaned forwards and spoke to the driver before opening his door and letting the excited lesser demon out of the car as well. Cowbell hopped out of the car and immediately took a picture of the church, spinning the dial to move the film on.  
“Come on Cowbell! We’ll be hear all day if you have to photograph everything!” Nihil was already stood by the entrance and the teen Ghoul quickly closed the distance, feeling unsafe being stood by himself to far away. Nihil walked through the glass doors and Cowbell followed, making to sure to keep his face hidden from the tourists also entering. 

The inside of the church was lavish, huge panelled stained glass with sweeping stone arches and rows of old wooden pews. The altar was set with candles, incense and a large crucifix. Jesus hung from a crucifix on one wall near wooden panelling and Cowbell looked around the great room in awe. It was huge, and the Ghoul had never seen such a high ceiling. His camera clicked with more pictures as he wandered around, keeping close to Papa Nihil who subtly stood away from the huge crucifixes and sneered at the words of God written upon the walls in fine gold cursive. The demon could appreciate architecture, but the garish worship of God was something he couldn’t fathom. Nihil moved aside as a group of tourists bumbled past him to see the crucifix, and the old demon sat in a pew with a huff. Cowbell caught sight of him and walked over with a frown on his face, his hands covered with the pair of gloves he had packed to hide his claws.   
“Papa, are you okay? Do you need a drink or something?” The Ghoul looked at the Papa with concern and sat next to him gently, winding the film along in his camera absentmindedly.   
“A drink could help yes. Here.” Papa Nihil pulled a couple of notes out of his pocket and gave them to Cowbell, “There’s a vending machine in the lobby. Get yourself something if you’d like.” Cowbell nodded and took the money before weaving through the tourists in search of the vending machine. 

In the entrance Cowbell found the vending machine and bought two lemonades, one for him and one for Papa Nihil. The machine spat his change out and Cowbell carefully took the coins before turning to go back the way he’d come. A sudden ripple in the air around him stopped him in his tracks. Sniffing the Ghoul turned back towards the entrance, the two cold bottles of lemonade clutched in his hands. A wafting sent drifted along the breeze and Cowbell pulled his satchel to deposit the lemonade before he followed the scent out of the church and onto the street. Vendors with street food shouted their products and Cowbell sniffed the air again. It wasn’t anything human. His stomach growled and twisted painfully as he walked past a hotdog stall. His mouth was dry as he eyed the human food. A far more tempting food source drifted along the breeze and his tongue flicked against his teeth as he rounded another corner and walked along an alley. 

A man was stood, leant against the wall, one hand in his jeans pocket, the other occupied with a cigarette, flicking the ash from the end. He replaced the cigarette and took another drag before noticing the teen stood in the opening of the dead-end alley. Cowbell looked at the man, face shadowed beneath his hood, and felt something primal curl to life within him. A thrumming instinct ran through Cowbell as he watched the man look at him with a perplexed expression. The Ghoul took a step forwards and sniffed again the air filled with the smell of warm spirit filled flesh. The man put his cigarette out on the wall and blew smoke up towards the sky before speaking, “Hey, kid, you okay?” Cowbell’s blood rushed in his ears, his cheeks flushing as he licked at his teeth, a state of mania taking over as he grumbled and launched himself at the man. His tail sprung free of its binding, writhing and coiling as Cowbell’s hood fell from his head revealing horns and dark eyes surrounded by black and red pulsing veins. His face shifted and blurred into blackness as his jaw unhinged to become a great maw full of needle like teeth.

The man collapsed beneath the wailing Ghoul and hit the floor with a grunt wrestling at Cowbell’s shoulders to try and push him away. Cowbell screamed a vicious cry, teeth snapping together centimetres away from the man’s throat, dark eyes swirling with purple as the rage grew within him at the denial. The man fought against him still, crying out as Cowbell’s claws ripped open his battered denim jacket. Cowbell howled above him and reared back before slamming his claws down into the man’s chest. Blood trickled from the wounds and the man coughed as Cowbell twisted his fingers in the wounds tearing the red flesh open wider. The man still squirmed beneath him but was momentarily distracted. This gave Cowbell a long enough window to unhinge his jaw and tear into the unprotected meat of the man’s neck. A wheeze escaped the victim as the Ghoul’s needle teeth plunged through vessels, muscles and cartilage. Spasms rippled up the man and Cowbell withdrew, spitting the man’s larynx and trachea out before ripping through the layers of clothing to find something soft to tear into. 

Gasping breaths left the man as blood spurted from the arteries in his neck. Cowbell tittered and reached for the man’s flat stomach, claws scrapping the skin away before sinking into the flesh and grasping a handful of innards. The Ghoul sniffed them and tossed them aside. They hit the wall with a great squelch, leaving a bloodied mark behind. Clicking, the creature tossed aside more insides from the warm body before tearing ribs and chunks of flesh free. A long, pointed tongue lolled out of Cowbell’s mouth and licked at the treats before teeth tore free the dangling pieces of red flesh. Still unsatisfied, the Ghoul reached for the man’s arms and began biting and ripping lumps of muscle from the bone. Cowbell pulled a tendon free with his claws and opened his mouth wide, carefully winding the stringy morsel into his mouth before snapping his jaw closed and chewing happily, blood dripping down onto the concrete underneath him. The man was slowly growing cold now and the Ghoul tore open the legs before consuming more flesh before the spirit was completely gone.

Papa Nihil grew worried after ten minutes of Cowbell being gone and donned his sunglasses again before venturing out into the entrance. The young Ghoul was nowhere to be seen and the antipope quickly grew worried as he walked out of the church. The burden of the religious relics was lifted, and he felt the full force of his energy return as he walked down the street. He asked a few vendors if they had seen a teenager dressed in all black robes but received no help as they all shrugged. Nihil rummaged in his pockets for his flip phone until he rounded a corner and spotted the bloodied Ghoul crouched over a copse. Blood trickled down by the dumpsters and small piles of organs lay discarded to the sides. Cowbell twitched as he heard the footfalls behind him. He was perched on top of the corpse, robes tacky with blood stains.

“Cowbell, what have you done, my son?” Nihil walked forwards swiftly towards the Ghoul, tucking his sunglasses away in his pocket as he watched Cowbell’s ears twitch at the sound of him approaching.  
“I…I killed a man…” Cowbell turned slowly towards the antipope. His face was a mess of red coagulating blood and congealed visceral fluids and pink stained teeth gritted and he looked down at his own blood covered claws, trembling with trauma.   
“Come away, my child. You could not have stopped this. It is not your fault.” Nihil embraced the Ghoul in a tight hug. Cowbell pushed his claws into the soft material of the Papa’s suit jacket and wailed a high-pitched cry sobbing into the old man’s chest like a child. He knelt there with the Ghoul for some time before pushing him away and smiling, opening his flip phone while still petting Cowbell’s hair. Dialling a number, he drew the Ghoul away from the site and spoke to the team on the phone. A clean up crew would be necessary. The entire way home never once did Papa Nil stop petting the Ghoul whispering soft words in dark languages. Cowbell would never be a monster to him.

**Author's Note:**

> More writing from me. Follow my Ghost Tumblr   
> you-are-cast-out


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